Romanian citizens' interests are main focus of attention of foreign policy, says Traian Basescu

Bucharest, Jan 21 /Agerpres/ - Romanian President Traian Basescu said on Wednesday, when he received the diplomatic corps accredited to Bucharest at the Cotroceni Palace, that the interests of all Romanian citizens were the main focus of attention of the foreign policy as a fundamental landmark of the country's action.

The Head of State assured the Romanians abroad, no matter whether they belong to the historical communities or whether they live temporarily in the territory of another state, that the Romanian authorities would equally protect their rights.

"The number of Romanians living abroad increased very much concurrently with the labour market in some European Union member states being opened," said Basescu.

He said that a continuous challenge the European Union had to face was and still is the need to have a coherent and efficient approach to the integration of the ethnic minorities, based on equality, nondiscrimination and respect for the fundamental human rights.

The President also said that the EU must become a strong political entity, adding that the institutional reform of the Union needed to be completed as soon as possible.

"Romania considers that the institutional reform in the EU must be completed as soon as possible, with a solution for the Treaty of Lisbon to be found, so that we can focus on other immediate priorities. I am referring first of all to surmounting the current economic and financial crisis and to creating a prosperous and safe environment for the European citizens," the Romanian Head of the State said.

He specified that he was also thinking of ensuring the energy security and the preparation of Europe for playing an important role as a promoter of an approach to climate changes on the global plane.

Moreover, Basescu said a more significant, more operative and more diversified capacity of reaction was needed, also mentioning that the economic crisis could not be used as a pretext for postponing reforms.

With regard to the energy security, Basescu said that the developments in the past few weeks revealed the necessity for a strong cohesion in the EU.

"A unitary action would have projected the Union's interests and would have ensured the necessary alternatives, thus avoiding an energy supply crisis. Romania has been promoting this position since 2005, when it highlighted the need for concrete sources and alternative routes, such as the Nabucco project," Basescu said.

President Traian Basescu said that the immediate concern early this year came from the economy and finance.

"Many states are nearing or are already in a recession. There is a risk of the situation getting worse and the biggest danger is that the economic instability and energy insecurity should complicate even more the already complex global security equation overall," President Basescu said in the speech he delivered at the Cotroceni Palace.

According to Basescu, 2008 will unfortunately go down in the world history as crisis year that witnessed food, financial and then economic crises.

"We also faced long local and regional security crises, such as the one in the Gaza Strip or the one in Georgia or such as the ones in various parts of Africa, not forgetting the fact that the reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan turn out to be more complex, more difficult than we initially thought them to be. There are tension factors that gathered and grew in number, complicating our efforts meant to make us cope with the challenges of the beginning of this century: terrorism, energy security, climate changes, migration, the struggle against poverty, the violation of human rights, the non-proliferation of mass destruction weapons," said the Head of State.

He appreciated that the possibility to meet the current challenges would often depend on the capability of each state to work under multiple partnerships, that is, to work together with key actors at each level in order to build new relations and institutions allowing for efficient action that will benefit all.

"Our conviction is that the 21st century needs multilateralism that should be both flexible and pragmatic. In times of crisis, new opportunities emerge for boosting change and introducing structural reforms. It depends on us how to manage them and I believe that, in order to guarantee a safer and more durable system, we should consider at least four essential desiderata. The first relates to the management of the economic crisis that will secure sustainable development and growth; the second relates to staying focused on stringent global issues such as climate changes, poverty, migration, energy, democratic deficits in some parts of the world and terrorism. The third element relates to the consolidation of the international law system and, finally, the fourth element in our view concerns strengthening and increasing the efficiency of international institutions by improving their capability of imposing the force of the international law when and where needed," said Basescu.

In his opinion, the solutions to the 21st century challenges should make use more of efficient regional multilateralism. "I am referring to the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the ASEAN, the African Union, or the UNASUR, which are either cooperation organizations or organizations with integrationist vocation largely drawing on the European project. Despite criticism, the UN remains the only organization in the world with a universal vocation, an organization that has undergone a wide-ranging process of redesign and reform."

The Head of State maintained that one of the fields needing changes was the international financial system, 'which is no longer adjusted to present-day realities.'

"If the harsh lessons taught by the two world wars were necessary for laying the foundations of a new postwar multilateral order, I feel sure that, in 2009, we shall know how to mobilize ourselves and join forces more rapidly in order to resume the economic growth and preserve the international stability. The architecture of the institutions monitoring the international economic system needs a renewed plan. It must start from new principles, such as responsibility and transparence, and lay the foundations of an early prevention and alert system," said Basescu.

President Basescu also said that the strategic partnership with the United States stayed a fundamental element of the foreign policy interests and outlook. "We want to cooperate with the incoming US Administration in order to deepen and reconfirm the solidity of the trans-Atlantic relationship, to preserve the relevance of NATO as a foundation stone for our security," the President said.

The Romanian Head of State said boosting trans-Atlantic ties remained vital, because 'neither Europe, nor the US can face alone the challenges and threats of the 21st century.'

According to Basescu, the US needs a strong and united Europe as much as Europe needs the US to be "engaging and open to cooperation with its allies".

"Given last year's crises, the current international system entails increasingly more of the US involvement in solving them. There are no efficient global solutions without a role ascribed to the US partners as much as the United States cannot implement or convincingly support global solutions without partners," said Basescu.

The Head of State also said that, in terms of foreign policy, Romania would consistently follow in 2009 the objectives and principles it set to achieve all the way back in 2005.

"Following our accession to the EU and NATO, we can see that Romania's membership of the two bodies has provided the country with a platform to assess risky situations and also a capacity for bigger influence. We could see this when themes of major interest to Romania are debated and promoted as thus within the EU: Kosovo, Moldova, the Black See, energy security, climate changes," said Basescu.

He pointed out that, besides the promotion of its national interests, Romania would continue to conjugate its efforts with those of its partners in order to contribute to the security of other regions in the world.

"What I mean here is the consolidation of NATO. And Romania would like to see the start off of a historic process at the NATO's anniversary summit that would lead to the transformation of the most successful alliance in history into an organization able to provide security to its members," said the President.

He indicated that Romania, as a European state neighbouring the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe, was duty bound to contribute to securing stability of these areas and making sure the Western Balkan states progress.

"What we mean by this is first of all a clear outlook for a European and Euro-Atlantic future as a sure way for modernization and increased responsibility on the part of these states. As far as the European prospects are concerned, Romania has committed itself to Turkey and Romania wants to meet its commitments. The Black Sea zone will remain a priority for Romania, and so will Central Asia," said Basescu.

He pointed out that Romania believed it was its duty to support, as it has done so far, the European and Euro-Atlantic route of the countries in its geographic region that have voiced an option to this end.

The President also said that Romanian authorities wanted to lay "a truly useful to both parties, future-oriented pragmatism" at the foundation of the relationship between Romania and the Russian Federation so that a "predictable picture of the direction of this relationship" may be gained.

The Head of State highlighted the importance of striking a balance in the trade between Romania and the Russian Federation, and creating conditions for an economic cooperation that will meet the needs of the two countries.

As far as the relations between Romania and the Republic of Moldova are concerned, Basescu reiterated that Romania would continue to support the efforts of the Moldovan authorities meant to secure the democratization of Moldova and a predictable European route.

"Carrying out the parliamentary election this April under the best conditions and in respect of the democratic principles will be an important test and we hope that it will confirm the confidence Romania and its European partners have staked in the Republic of Moldova," said Basescu.

The President mentioned that neighbouring Moldova was in a crucial year, and the offer of the European Union and particularly Romania's is generous, and now it is up to the Moldovan authorities to capitalize on it.

Traian Basescu also mentioned the conflict in Georgia of 2008, adding that this conflict and the persistence of other frozen conflicts in Eastern Europe proved that more efficient mechanisms were needed for the conflict management and a larger on site solidarity of European and Euro-Atlantic organizations.

The Romanian Head of State warned that the solutions sought should avoid the consecration of collective rights for ethnic minorities, because the international law only recognizes individual rights for the persons belonging to ethnic communities.

[Source: Romanian National News Agency AGERPRES ]